1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a portable apparatus and, more particularly to a portable apparatus incorporating a sound output device that is disposed at a pivot portion between a display housing and a main housing of the portable apparatus such that the portable apparatus is made more compact.
2. Description of the Related Art
As notebook computers become increasingly popular, in addition to word processing, a growing number of people use notebook computers for listening to music, watching movies and playing games. Therefore, there is a demand for better quality sound output by notebook computers.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,668,882, entitled “notebook computer speakers,” discloses a notebook computer including a keyboard housing formed with sound apertures in an underside thereof and including a low frequency speaker disposed in the keyboard housing. In order for low frequency sound outputted by the low frequency speaker to exit the sound apertures, the keyboard housing is provided with four foot parts on the underside thereof, such that the underside of the keyboard housing is spaced apart from a table surface when the notebook computer is in use.
By disposing the low frequency speaker in the keyboard housing, the size of the notebook computer is increased, and the quality of the low frequency sound is adversely affected. In particular, since the current trend is to reduce the size of notebook computers, with the low frequency speaker occupying considerable space in the keyboard housing, placement configurations of other internal components in the keyboard housing are undesirably limited. In addition, when the thickness of the keyboard housing is reduced, there is usually little space left for reflection, refraction or diffraction of the low frequency sound within the keyboard housing before exiting via the sound apertures, thereby adversely affecting the quality of the low frequency sound. Furthermore, the quality of low frequency sound is further adversely affected due to the fact that the sound apertures are located in the underside of the keyboard housing.
To solve this problem, some notebook computers have the low frequency speakers disposed at sides of the keyboard housing. An example is disclosed in Taiwanese Patent Publication No. 580840, entitled “Portable Computer Provided with a low Frequency Speaker”. However, the problems of leaving limited space in the keyboard housing for other internal components and of adversely affecting the quality of low frequency sound are still unsolved. Furthermore, the sound propagating direction of the low frequency sound is substantially parallel to a rotation axis of an optical disc player or a hard drive disposed in the keyboard housing. Since the optical disc player or the hard drive is very sensitive to vibrations, reading/writing operations thereof are adversely affected by the low frequency sound.